Excavating tool combined with a firearm



s. M. WALTER 2,823,48l

EXCAVATING 'roor. COMBINED WITH A FIREARM Feb. 18, 1958 Filed July 1. 1954 INVENTOR STEPHEN M. AIJ'E ATTORNEYS EXCAVATING TOOL COMBINED WITH A FIREARM Stephen M. Walter, Washington, D. C.

Application July 1, 1954, Serial No. 440,685

6 Claims. (CI. 42-93) The present invention relates to an entrenching tool and more particularly to the adaptation of a bayonet as a dig ging tool, the impact power being supplied by a bullet fired from a rifle or other conventional arms.

At present foot troops must depend on picks and/or small hand shovels to excavate fox holes or other underground fortifications to provide shelter against-enemy fire. Where the ground is hard or frozen it is difficult rapidly to penetrate the earth with hand tools so that the soldier is exposed for a relatively long period.

It is an object of this invention to provide a bayonet attachable to a rifle in thec'onventional manner but which may be attached to the rifle in another position in which the impact from a bullet fired from the rifle is employed to eflect'penetration of the ground by the bayonet.

It is another object of the invention to provide means .nit e States attit in the bayonet for deflecting the bullet in such a manner that a lateral thrust is imparted to the bayonet after initial axial impact better to loosen the'earth following penetration thereof.

Other objects will be apparent from the following description of the invention taken with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. l is a side elevation of a bayonet aflixed to a rifle in the conventional manner;

Fig. 2 is a partial longitudinal section taken through a preferred form of bayonet illustrating its attachment to the rifle barrel in a position to function as an excavating tool and the shape of the bore and bullet deflecting walls thereof; and

Fig. 3 is a section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

In the drawings, the rifle barrel is indicated at 10 and the bayonet at 11. The end of barrel 10 is provided with external interrupted threads 12 but which pass through an opening in the handle flange 13 when the bayonet is locked to the barrel in the conventional manner as shown in Fig. 1. As illustrated in Fig. 2, the handle 14 of the bayonet is bored at 15 and at the handle end this bore is also provided with interrupted internal threads 12' to form a tight locking engagement with threads 12 on the barrel when the bayonet is to be employed for excavat- It is to be noted that bore 15 communicates with an opening 16 in the side of the bayonet handle, the area of this opening being substantially larger than that of the bore. It will also be seen that the walls connecting the bore with this opening are curved, as at 17 and 18, to deflect the bullet after initial impact thereon. The curvature of these walls is so designed that the bullet strikes the curved wall first at the point A whereupon it rebounds in the direction indicated by the line X. The bullet then strikes another point B on the curved wall and is deflected in the direction indicated by the line Y so that it is discharged through the side opening 16. Thus there is double deflection or ricochet of the bullet after it is fired and before it is discharged through the opening in the side of the bayonet handle.

It is obvious that the longitudinal component of the force of impact and deflection at the point A will be imparted to the pointed blade 19 and as the blade is held against the ground it will penetrate the earth to a considerable depth. At the same time the horizontal component of this force imparts a lateral thrust to the blade. Lateral forces also are imparted to the bayonet by the second deflection of the bullet at point B better to loosen the earth after penetration. It will also be apparent that the gases following explosion of the bullet charge will be further imposed on the curved walls 17 and 18 to provide additional forces tending to effect longitudinal and lateral thrusts to the bayonet blade and to clear the bullet from the bayonet. After the two impacts of the bullet against the inner walls of the handle, much of the velocity of the bullet will have been spent so that after it emerges from the side opening the bullet will fall harmlessly a short distance away.

The bayonet handle is shaped or cast from any suitable metal and is provided with a non-conducting cover 21. The entire handle may, if desired, be made of a metal designed to withstand the shocks, wear and heat incident to the firing of a bullet as described. Preferably the metal of the handle is of a low cost type. At those points of the walls 17 and 18 where direct impact takes place, the walls are reinforced with inserts 22 of tool steel or other alloys capable of withstanding severe impact and resistant to wear and heat. The enlarged chamber between the bore 15 and opening 16 permits the gases resulting from firing readily to expand and escape, a portion of thee):- pancling gases being imposed on the partly spent bullet to eject it from the chamber. 4

From the foregoing description of the invention it will be apparent that there is provided a light-weight, easily manipulated excavating tool operable by impact of a fired bullet and capable of penetrating hard or frozen ground, chalk-like earth or ice, as well as ground in which roots are densely matted, in a relatively short time to insure suflicient shelter in such emergencies as might be met in combat. At the same time no additional equipment or arms are necessary other than those customarily carried by combatants. Actually some of the equipment now necessary may be dispensed with. Because of its simplicity, only routine training is necessary to enable the soldier to attach the device to a fire-arm, either in the con ventional manner or for use as a digging tool. The rifle may be fired repeatedly and a series of shots will in a short time drive the bayonet blade well into the earth at one or more points to loosen the earth sufficiently to provide shelter for the soldier.

While a preferred form of the invention has been illustrated and described, it is not intended that the invention be limited to the exact details shown, but that such modifications as fall within the purview of the appended claims are contemplated. For instance-while the device herein disclosed is associated with an infantrymans rifle, it is obvious that it would function equally well with automatic and rapid-fire arms as well as with pistols and other small arms.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with a fire-arm having a barrel, an excavating tool secured to the discharge end of said barrel, the terminal end of said tool being disposed forwardly of the discharge end of said barrel, and means on said tool for receiving the impact from a bullet fired by said barrel to deliver a longitudinal thrust to said terminal end in a direction parallel to said axis and to deflect the bullet laterally of the axis of said bore.

2. In combination with a fire-arm having a barrel, an excavating tool secured to the discharge end of said barrel, a bore in said tool aligned with said barrel, the terminal end of said tool being disposed forwardly of the discharge end of said barrel, said tool having a discharge opening disposed laterally of said bore, and a wall connecting said opening to said bore, said wall being angularly disposed to the axis of said bore to receive the impact of a bullet fired from said barrel to deliver a longitudinal thrust to said terminal-end in a direction parallel to said axis and to deflect the bullet toward said opening.

3. In combination with a fire-arm having a barrel, an excavating tool secured to the discharge end of said barrel, a bore in said tool aligned with said barrel, the terminal end of said tool being disposed forwardly of thedischarge end of said barrel, said tool having a discharge opening disposed laterally of said bore, and a wall connecting said opening to said bore, said wall being so curved that the being'disposed forwardly of the discharge end of said barrel,,.said handle having a longitudinalbore in axial alignment with said barrel when said bayonet is aflixcd to said barrel, said handle having a discharge opening dis posed laterally of said bore, and a wall connecting said opening to said bore, said wall being angularly disposed to the axis of said bore to receive the impact of a bullet fired from said barrel to deliver-a longitudinal thrust to said terminal end in adirection parallel to said axis and to deflect the bullet toward said opening.

6. In combination with a fire-arm having a barrel, an excavating tool secured to the dis-charge end ofsaid barrel, a bore in said tool alignedwith said barrel, the terminal end of said tool being disposed forwardly of the discharge wall receives the impact of a bulletfired from said barrel end of said barrel, said tool having a discharge opening to deliver a longitudinal thrust to said terminal end in a disposed laterally of said bore, the area of said opening direction parallel to said axis and deflects the bullet tobeing substantially larger than that of said bore, and a wall ward another portion of said wall where .it is deflected a connecting said opening to said bore, said wall being ansecond time toward said opening. gularly disposed to the axis of-said bore'to receive the im- 4. In combination with a fire-arm having a barrel, :an pact of a bullet fired from said barrel to deliver a longiexcavating tool secured to the discharge end of said bartudinal thrust to said terminal end in a-direction parallel rel, a bore in said tool alig With .Said arrel, the terto said axis and to deflect the bullet toward said opening,

minal end of Said 1 vdisposedforwardly of thedissaid wall further defining a chamber adjacent said opening charge end of Said barrel, Said t001 having a discharge in which the gases resulting from firing a bullet through opening disposed laterally of said bore, and a wall ;consaid barrel expand and escape through the opening, a por- Ilecting Said Opfining to said W311 being tion of said expanding gases serving toeject thebullet curved that the wall receives the impact .of a bullet fired through said opening.

from said barrel to deliver a longitudinal thrust to said terminal end in a direction parallel to said axis and deflects 4 t the bullet toward another portion of said wall where it is References Cited m the file of this patent deflected a second time toward said opening, the surfaces UNITED STATES PATENTS of those portions of said wall receiving the impact of the 212,244 Lyford Feb. 11, 1879 bullet being composed of a metal resistant to-shock, wear, 1,187,218 Wister June '13, 1916 and heat. 2,041,209 Ridley May 19, 1936 5. In combination with a fire-arm having a barrel, a

bayonet, said bayonet having a handle secured to the dis- FOREIGN PATENTS charge end of said barrel, the terminal end of said bayonet 10,436 Great Britain 1909 

